Harlequin Shadows
by XxRainDollxX
Summary: They always balanced each other out, no matter how sick things got. It was an unspoken promise. JxH


**Author's Note:**

Okay, let's get a few things out of the way.

A.) This is my first fan fiction, so be gentle please. As much as I love criticism, there is a fine line between CONSTRUCTIVE and DESTRUCTIVE.

B.) I wanted Harley to be a little more twisted so I changed around a few things. No, I didn't make her into a completely different person. I hate it when people do that in their fictions so don't worry about that. But I don't want any comments saying "That's not the way it went in the comics/movies/whatever!". There is a reason why its called _FAN _**FICTION**, people.

C.) I'm basing the Joker off of Heath Ledger's absolutely spectacular performance. Which will make getting him right really hard. Please tell me if there is anything I can do to… portray him better.

D.) Please enjoy! Read! Comment! Review! Anything! I would like to know if anyone wants me to continue this!

**Summary: **They always balanced each other out, no matter how sick things got. It was an unspoken promise.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything except for those evil tiny little side characters. (Amy Brennt, Aaron Hert, Yvette Holson...)

**Pairings: **I'm mainly focusing on JokerxHarley but if there are any extra pairings you would like to see…

**Rating: **T (May change depending on how sadistic I'm feeling at the moment.)

"And here… we… go."

…

BOOM. :D

* * *

_**Chapter One : Conspiracies and Coincidences**_

**xxx**

"So… Who are you therapisizin' today doctor?" A male guard blurted out after a long uncomfortable silence.

The doctor smiled before correcting him. "Therapisizing is not a word, Aaron."

"So?" He grinned at his fiancé, nudging her with his elbow. "Don't change the subject. Is it top secret or somethin'?"

She shoved his elbow away, giving him a warning glance. "Please act your own age."

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Aaron rolled his eyes. "So can you tell me or are you just gonna leave me hangin'?"

"I'm afraid so. _I'm _not even sure who I'm taking care of today."

"Well then… I guess I'll see you at home tonight." He muttered softly before kissing her on the cheek.

She nodded, picked up her coffee mug, and continued on her way to her office.

Her heels clicked in perfect rhythm against the white marble flooring, and her eyes darted from face to face as she greeted her colleagues in a formal manner.

Doctor Amy Brennt had been working at Arkham, Gotham City's insane asylum, for 5 years. She knew every doctor, every patient, and every room like the back of her hand. She wasn't the top dog per se, but she sure as hell was close.

"Dr. Brennt!" A loud voice echoed through the corridors. Amy briskly turned around and it only took a matter of seconds before an elderly man was standing before her.

"Good morning Dr. Arkham."

"Yes yes, good morning." He said quickly, flashing a fast smile before dropping it and getting down to business. He didn't like beating around the bush.

"As you know… The Joker will be transported here in two days." He said, wiping sweat off his forehead with his pudgy fingers.

"I am aware of that. I also remember I was promised his case."

"That's what I needed to talk to you about. It seems there has been a change in plans."

Amy's brows furrowed. She had been _promised_ that position. She hoped she hadn't been assigned a different case.

"You have been assigned a different case, Dr. Brennt."

**xxx**

Familiar small heels could be heard clicking once again against the floor. Except this time it was louder and faster, it could almost be categorized as stomping.

A door was slammed open, then slammed shut and a coffee mug was practically thrown onto a desk.

"Dammit!" Amy exclaimed as she fell into her chair. Today was **not **her day. Not only had she been denied the case she had been chasing around for almost 2 months now, but she had also been assigned a 'blind' case which meant that she had no idea who she was taking care of until the files were sent in to her office.

In a week.

She let out an exasperated sigh as she massaged her temples and tried to be optimistic about the situation. The person who she would be 'helping' was probably very difficult since they didn't do blind cases with regular patients. A blind case meant only the top doctors have heard of them.

But still! She was missing out on the _Joker_! Stupid Dr. Arkham! Stupid society! Stupid everything! Stupid stupid stupid!

A soft knock broke Amy out of her nasty thoughts about those nasty people.

"Come in." She growled.

"Sorry if I'm bothering you Dr. Brennt… I just wanted to wish you luck on the Joker assignment." A soft voice called out from behind the door.

Amy smiled. That was Nurse Yvette. Always so nice. Something rare in this business. "Come in Yvette."

A short chubby woman walked in with a big smile, her teeth glistening in the florescent lighting.

"How can you be so happy in a place like this?" Amy asked, raising both an eyebrow and her coffee mug to her lips.

"Well," Yvette closed the door behind her and continued deeper into the office. "I've been assigned a new patient!"

Amy nodded in understanding. She knew that Yvette had been stuck with _meaningless_ patients for the months she had been working at Arkham.

"So who are you sedating nowadays?"

**xxx**

Nurse Yvette Codetta hissed impatiently at the bright red button she had pushed at least 20 times. Seeing that bitch of a doctor Amy Brennt always made her a bit more… mean. But then again, Yvette wasn't that nice of a person to begin with.

"_So who are you sedating nowadays?"_ she had said. As if that were the only thing nurses did.

Well, actually, in her case, it was. But that wasn't the point!

The point was that _Dr_. Brennt was sitting smugly behind her desk, waiting for her precious papers to be filled out so she could pick them up and go 'help' someone who obviously couldn't be helped (Or even make it back into society).

It wasn't like _she_ had to hold someone down and watch the life being practically drained straight out of their eyes.

"Good morning nurse."

Switching back to her fake 'happy personality', she spun around on a heel and smiled gleefully at Dr. Arkham. The old bastard.

"Good morning, sir! Wonderful weather we're having today, don't you agree?"

"Mm, sure." He said, dismissing the rather pathetic attempt at small talk. "I'm glad I caught you, nurse."

'_My name isn't nurse, jackass.'_

"Did you need me for something?"

The old man nodded and pressed the button that had gone from red to neutral. Suddenly the elevator doors swung open and he stepped hastily inside. Yvette stood there, dumbstruck, but only for a second before she got in.

"Yes," He paused for a second, as if considering his words. But then it seemed like he remembered that he was not a considerate person, so he moved on.

"I know you've been thrown around from patient to patient recently and quite frankly…" He turned to give her a cold stare as the elevator doors slid shut. "You've been doing a shitty job."

Yvette's mouth fell wide open. Who was he to tell her something like that? Oh right. He owned the place.

"Close your mouth, Codetta. You're attracting flies. Level 3 please."

She snapped her mouth shut and leaned forward to press a chubby finger against one of the buttons marked '3'.

"Now I know what you're thinking. You're thinking 'How can I do better?' Well you can't. Its quite obvious you can't. Very obvious." He chuckled humorlessly.

"So I guess what I'm trying to say is…" He paused and the elevator doors swung open to reveal a very desolate hallway.

"You're fired."

He stepped swiftly out of the elevator and began walking down the hall, leaving a wide-eyed Yvette behind.

Just as the elevator doors began to close she decided it might be in her best interest to go after him. She threw herself through them, barely making it, and began running towards him.

"WAIT!" She choked out. But he didn't stop walking. He simply called over his shoulder,

"When you run it sounds- and feels- like Godzilla is stomping through the building. Please stop before you frighten my patients."

She narrowed her eyes, but did as Arkham said and slowed her pace down to a fast walk. Eventually she caught up with him.

"Dr. Ark…ham," She gasped. "Please… give me… another chance!"

He peered at her from the corner of his eye. "Another chance? This is the real world, Ms. Codetta. There are no such things." As they neared the end of the hall, a door with the name 'Arkham' scribbled across it came into view.

"Please!" She begged, her eyes starting to water as she watched the doctor reach for the door handle.

"I'll do any case you want!"

Arkham stopped completely, the tips of his wrinkled fingers resting on the metal door knob. He looked up from the knob and over at Yvette and quirked an eyebrow.

"Any case?"

**xxx**

Oh how Yvette regretted saying those words. It would've been better if she had just stuck with being fired.

She had been relieved of her job, with no pay, for a whole week. Then she'd work with one, and only one, patient. She had heard of blind cases, but she never thought she would get one.

"This sucks." She growled as she slammed her foot down on the gas petal of her car and sped out of the asylum parking lot.

"I'm gonna be stuck with Dr. Brennt apparently." She pressed her finger against the button underneath her seat and the huge gates that separated the Arkham asylum from Gotham flew open. She continued to speed along her 'merry' way and the gates shut automatically.

"This really really **sucks**!" She repeated, this time screaming at the top of her lungs.

But then she remembered what Brennt had said only a few hours ago.

"_So who are you sedating nowadays?" Dr. Brennt said with a superior smirk as she sipped her coffee._

"_Excuse me?" Yvette asked, completely shocked. _

"_Not like it matters. To me at least." She smiled as she put her coffee mug back down on her desk._

"_Anyways, you'd better stop congratulating me about the Joker. They've reassigned me to a blind case."_

"_Oh," Yvette said, trying to sound genuinely sympathetic. "I'm **so** sorry. I didn't know." It worked. She continued._

"_Forgive my questioning, but if you don't mind, please tell me Dr. Brennt… What is a 'blind case'?"_

"_Oh right, I forgot. You're just an amateur, mediocre, newbie nurse, so of course you would want to know."_

_Yvette flinched at the harsh words, but kept her poker face and nodded._

"_Well a blind case includes at least 5 nurses, such as yourself, 2 doctors, like me, and if the patient is really… 'bad'… more than a few guards."_

_Yvette's eyes widened. Guards?_

"_All blind cases are very low profile, and yet so very high profile." There went that smug smirk again. _

"_So will your patient have guards?" _

"_I'm not sure. I'm still waiting for his or her paperwork to come in."_

_A knock at the door informed Yvette it was time to go. _

"_Good luck on your case, Dr. Brennt." She smiled before slinking out of the room._

'_**Such a nice kid.'** Dr. Brennt thought to herself before greeting the newcomer with a dark glare._

"_What the hell do you want?"_

So she was going to be dealing with a real creep. Not just your average schizophrenia or paranoia or whatever else ended in 'ia'.

The nurse groaned as she made a sharp turn into a garage. _Her _garage. She was already home.

The flashback took up most of the ride.

'_I wonder who it'll be…' _She thought to herself as she got out.

She began the very short walk to the door that connected her garage to her house.

… When suddenly she tripped over an unidentified object and smashed her face in on the hood of the car.

And high pitched maniacal laughter filled the room.

* * *

**Author's Note: (yes, again.)**

Hehe. Guess who? Virtual cookies and milk to whoever figures it out first. :) (Its not that hard, but its not who you think it is.)

I'm very sorry if I'm boring you with all of my dreadful side characters. Don't you just hate them? I know I do. I'm making them awful people with awful morals on purpose, if you haven't noticed. Plus I smashed one's face in on the hood of her car. If you haven't been reading. Because there are some people that only read Author's Notes. I just wanted to clue them in. Hah.

But we _must_ set the story up **somehow**! It'll be full of wonderful yummy sticky Joker-Harley goodness very soon, so keep reading!

Reviews are always nice too. ;)

Tee hee.

Rain


End file.
